During this time, we believe it is important to understand how changes in our normal routines are affecting the health and wellbeing of young people. We are giving children the opportunity to fill out the HAPPEN Return to School survey so that they have the opportunity to tell us their experiences.Your child is being asked to complete a short survey on their health and well-being as part of our primary school health network – HAPPEN (www.happen-wales.co.uk). They will be asked questions about their return to school including how happy they felt being back at school. The results are used to help schools make their pupils healthier and happier. If you would like to see the questionnaire it can be found here:
We would like to let you know that:
- Your child will be asked for their consent to take part in this questionnaire.
- Your child’s participation is voluntary and you can withdraw your child at any time.
- The data collected may be looked at by researchers who are members of the Primary School Network Research team in Swansea University.
- The answers your child gives can be linked in an anonymised way (e.g. your child cannot be identified but we can see if children with asthma, for example, do better or worse in school) to medical and educational records. This is in an anonymised way and we can NOT identify any individual child in any linkage with health or educational records.
- Your child will be asked to provide the research team with your postcode. This is used to look at how area and local environment affects health .
Parent Information Sheet
(Version 2.0, Date 11/12/2018)
Project Title: HAPPEN – The Health and Attainment of Pupils in a Primary Education Network
Please read the information below carefully.
Invitation Paragraph: The children in your child’s class have been invited to take part in a study that will look at the relationship between health, wellbeing and educational attainment.
1.What is the purpose of the study?
The data we collect from all of the children taking part in the study will help us assess the children’s health, fitness, happiness in school and overall wellbeing and education.
2.Why has my child been chosen?
All of the children in your child’s class, including your child, have been invited to take part in the study. If your child does not feel happy about anything that they are asked to do, they can stop at any time, and will be reminded of this throughout the study. If you need any more information about the study, then please contact any member of the team on the details above.
3.What will happen to your child if they take part?
Your child will be asked for their consent to complete an online questionnaire about their health, wellbeing and lifestyle, which will take about 20 minutes. The questionnaire may be completed at school or at home where you can be present in the room. The questionnaire may be repeated again within 12 months to look at changes in health and wellbeing. The questionnaire used is exactly the same as the baseline questionnaire. We will also use your child’s information for data linkage. This means that your child’s name will be changed to a number and entered into an anonymous database. This is done by a trusted third party: the NHS Wales Informatics Service. Once in the anonymous database, numbers can not be tracked back to children’s names. This database can be used to look into other records such as exam results and doctor’s records. Your child cannot be identified during this process and all linked data can only be looked at by group (for example, whether a group of who were physically active had better health compared to the group who were not).
4.What are the possible disadvantages of taking part?
The questionnaire will be completed sensitively in a group setting within the classroom or at home with you. Your child does not have to take part in the questionnaire if they do not wish to do so. You/your child are reminded of your right to withdraw at any time, without giving any reason at various stages of the study.
5.What are the possible benefits of taking part?
Taking part in this study can help improve our understanding of the impact of health and wellbeing on education, and encourage schools to take part in school-based initiatives in the future. Taking part in the research can be an enjoyable experience for children, and they will get to take part in an exciting questionnaire that they might not have taken part in before.
6.Will my child taking part in the study be kept confidential?
All the data we collect will be kept private and confidential; the children’s names will be changed to numbers. Any hard copies of the data will be kept in a secure office and computer files and any personal information will be password protected. The data obtained will only be looked at by responsible individuals of the research team from Swansea University.
7.What if I have any questions?
If you have any questions about the study please don’t hesitate to contact anyone from the research team (see contact details below). If after the study you are concerned about how any aspect of the research was conducted please contact the Chair of the School of Medicine Ethics Committee on: sumsresc@swansea.ac.uk
If you do not want your child to complete the questionnaire please complete this form below :